


Forget Me Not

by Darth_Rainbow_Queen_Of_Coconuts



Category: Marvel MCU, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Bruce and Thor are gays in space, F/M, M/M, Memory Loss, Multi, Ned Leeds is too pure for this world, Proof that Tony Stark has a heart, Slow Fucking Burn, So many mother hens, angst angst angst, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2020-03-07 08:35:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18869617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darth_Rainbow_Queen_Of_Coconuts/pseuds/Darth_Rainbow_Queen_Of_Coconuts
Summary: After a strong explosion, Peter Parker experiences a memory loss. You know what's worse ? Now everybody knows he's Spider-man. But it does get worse : He completely forgot his best friend, right after telling said best friend that he loves him. Ned tries to cope. MJ sasses the sadness out of people. Life's a mess but somehow, now it's normal for Peter & Ned to hang out at the Avengers compound or for an Iron Legion to hover over their respective building.





	1. Ned jinxed us.

Peter perked up, frowning as his spider-sense alerted him that something was going wrong. Truly wrong. Glancing at Ned who was desperately trying to remove a block from the Jenga pile he decided to glance toward his window, because danger was close. Perhaps if he could see, he could assess the situation. And he saw. He saw an elderly woman withdraw some money from a cash machine as a hooded male, short, probably a teen was waiting for her at the corner of the street. Within seconds, the male had approached the older lady, holding out a knife. He saw the fear morph her features in a heartbreaking manner. So finally, Peter acted, without thinking, reaching for one of his web shooter and jumping out of his window. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He warned, before webbing the male's armed hand to a wall.

The teen snarled. "You'll pay for this kid." He spat out angrily.

"Right." Peter turned toward the woman, asking if she was okay before taking the time to escort her home. 

 

By the time he got back on his way to his flat, Ned had texted him 12 times, May 20 and Tony Stark 5. "Oh fuck." He mumbled to himself, stopping in his track to watch the tv in Delmar's sandwich shop. It was him. It was him with a web-shooter. It was him being revealed as possibly Spider-Man. Peter ran back home.

 

Tony Stark was waiting on this couch. "I thought we had an agreement, Peter." He spoke, as soon as the teen entered.

"Mr Stark, I..." He swallowed thickly.

"You, what, kid ?" Tony asked, narrowing his eyes. "Wanted to have a little taste of fame ?"

Peter vehemently shook his head. "No of course not, you know me. I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Grassroots work and all that."

Tony chuckled, standing up to tower him. "No you're not. Peter, you're a kid. You're..." He inhaled deeply, scratching his right eyebrow. "You're just a kid. And I don't..." The older man shook his head, hands slightly trembling as he tried to remind himself that this wasn't his son, that it wasn't his fault. But it was. It was Tony who'd brought him into this mess, who'd let him believe that he was ready to go to par with the word's worst kind of villains, that he was ready to be an Avenger. "Look, I get where you were coming from. You helped that woman and I think your heart is in the right place, _son_." It slipped out. "But." He gestured at the TV. "You just put a giant target in your back, and I'm not sure you'll be able to carry it. You have to let me take it away, please, let me fix it. Let me, fix this. Stay home, no vigilante activities for a while, just lay low, okay?" Peter opened his mouth to protest. "Spider-man is not all that you are. You're Peter Parker and you matter for people as Peter Parker. You really do. Look around you." Tony gestured at Ned and May. "That target you might think you can carry on your own, is on their back as well, think about it, please. They care. _I, care, alright ?_ Let me fix this." The teen sighed but silently nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. Tony clasped his shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief before patting it a few times and leaving. 

 

"I'm so sorry..." Peter mumbled softly, as his Aunt wrapped him in a hug.

"Don't be. You did the right thing, today. And I'm proud of you." Peter sniffled a little, frightened at the simple thought of loosing someone he loved. "Hey no, don't cry." May pulled away to cup his face. "Please, don't, or I'll cry and then we both cry and it will be horribly awkward for Ned." They both chuckled, welling tears blinked away. "Peter, no matter what happens, you know that I larb you right?" He nodded. "Good." She kissed his head. "It will be fine, we'll figure out. Hell, we have a genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist on our side, it should mean something."

Peter smiled, knowing that it should, indeed. He tentatively glanced at Ned who was eating Doritos as silently as possible and chuckled. "Ned, I... I'd understand if you wanted to put some distance between us..."

Ned frowned. "What ? Dude, I'm Spider-Man's guy in the chair but first and foremost Peter Parker's best friend, I'm not giving up on either. No way. I trust you. You'll protect me. You and Iron-Man. And perhaps, the rest of the Avengers. Imagine if I got to meet them?" His eyes widened in awe. "Aww man, I almost want to get kidnapped now."

Peter chuckled. "Please, don't jinx us, I have no idea what I'd do without you." Ned laughed. "You'd have to rely on Karen, I guess." Peter quietly joined him. And right now, right there, everything seemed relatively fine.

 

Like hell they'd remain the same.


	2. worry wart ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter worries too much. Evidently. Or maybe not ?

The following day at school was weird. Everyone was looking at him at the same time, yet nobody would meet his gaze. Except for MJ who directly marched toward him. "So Parker." She rummaged through her backpack, pulling out her doodle notebook, and reached for a page where she'd drawn him. "That's what you look like right now." She told him, showing him his own distress.

"Thank you?" He tried, frowning a bit. "You're welcome." She spoke, lips slightly curling up. "Most of them are still doubting it, the Spider-Man thing."

He rose an eyebrow. "Not you ?"

She almost chuckled. "I knew before Ned."

He almost choked right there. "How ?"

She furrowed her brows, looking a little offended and tilted her head to the side, as if trying to evaluate whether or not he truly believed himself subtle. Oh gosh, he did. Blinking her amazement away, she cleared her throat. "Heads up, Flash is telling everyone you're an impersonator, or as he says 'a filthy liar that lies to make himself interesting' but I'm sorta past the 12 years old language." Peter chuckled. "I think he's just pissed he'd been admiring you all along." She sighed, shoved the notebook in her backpack. "Anyway, bye." And just like that she was gone. Peter chuckled again and reached out for his A.P chemistry textbook. 

 

Peter furrowed his brows when Ned was nowhere to be found. Usually he'd arrive a little early to do his homework. It never took Ned long to do those so Tuesday nights were spend gaming and morning regretting it until lunch would come. But today, he wasn't there. Maybe he was running late. Yeah. It had to be that. Agonizingly long minutes passed and still no Ned. As soon as the bell rang, Peter was out, with no idea about what had been discussed in class. He'd tried texting Ned 18 times already, with no reply. So he called. And called again. Then called the Leeds household. Still no reply. So Peter called Tony Stark, who oddly enough picked up right away. "Ned is gone Mr Stark, he wasn't in class today and I..." He was seriously starting to freak. "I don't know what's happening Mr Stark."

Tony sighed softly. "Peter, count with me."

Peter frowned. "What ?!"

"Count with me. 1." The teen narrowed his eyes but repeated the number nonetheless. "Good. 2." He numbly followed. "3." He really wasn't seeing where this was going. "7." He frowned but repeated. "5." That made no sense, Peter noticed, but he obeyed. "9." 1-2-3-7-5-9. Peter, say it all." The teen swallowed but repeated the numbers. "Good, you were about to have a panic attack. Now, if I may, Ned is at a doctor appointment, it appears he might've caught the flu. Anything else?"

Peter shook his head before realizing Tony couldn't see him. "Thank you Mr Stark."

"You're welcome, kid." Tony hung up. Peter threw his head back, heaving a deep sigh of belief before rushing to his next class, very obviously late. 

 

By lunch, Ned and him were texting back and forth. It appears Ned did have the flu.

 

— I'm sorry I worried you, I ran out of battery during the night and fell asleep before I could charge it, so I left it at home while my mom took me to the doc.

 

'It's fine, I'm just on edge.'

 

— No, it's really not. I should've known you'd freak.

 

'Is that why we're both using actual grammar and ppunctuation?'

 

— Yes. Because this is an important conversation. And because my mom warned me that if she received one more 'luv u' instead of the real deal she'd throw me out in the cold.

 

'U know u cld always crash @ mine, rgt?'

 

— Yes. But I'm trying not to give in to temptation. You're too good at corrupting me, Parker.

 

'Riiiiight, guess I'll b tlkin slang 4 both of us den.'

 

— I hate you.

 

'no, you don't.' _Ned can't hate. He's too kind. Peter still needs some reassurance though._

 

— No. I don't.

_ Boy, does that feel good to hear. _

 

'Sometimes I wonder if our relationship isn't a little too co—dependent or if there isn't more to it than we' _Erase, erase, erase. Erase it all._ 'I'm glad.' _Sent_.

 

— Dude, I think one of Tony Stark iron Legion robot is hanging around, this is so cool.

 

'Who wld hve guessed Mr Stark was dat lvl of xtra ?'

 

— Literally anybody who has ever met him ?

 

Peter chuckled at the message. "You're so gone." Peter frowned at MJ's voice, looking at her, sitting a few tables away. She held a drawing for him to see. It was him, doing heart eyes at his phone.

Peter blushed faintly. "I. No. This isn't what you think. It's just Ned."

She furrowed her brows. " _When was is ever 'just Ned' for you ?_ " She asked before closing the notebook and going back to her fruit salad as if he didn't exist.

Peter grumbled, wondering how this had become his life. He looked down at his phone to see that Ned had sent a video. It was basically Ned arm opening the window then zooming on the robot who definitely wasn't one of Tony and letting out a heartfelt ' **fuck, I think I'm getting kidnapped Peter. Sorry**.' Then the phone was being snatched away and thrown and the video was over. Peter's eyes widened. He stood up, distressed and started to run toward his locker. He lifted up the rack with little care and reached for his old costume. He couldn't let Karen alert Tony. He eventually would, once he knew where Ned was and Tony could no longer stop him from intervening even if he wanted to. "Please forgive me Mr Stark." He mumbled to himself as he put the old costume back on. "But it's Ned we're talking about."

 

Spiderman out there, during broad day, with his old costume. Bad for his public image. But when did Peter ever care about that ? He regularly rescued cats and ate churros offered to him by strangers. This was his life now. But it shouldn't be Ned's. So when he finally made it to the flat and found none other than Iron Man in his best friend's room , he muttered under his breath.

"Nice try kid." Tony said, removing his own mask before handing him his actual costume. "This is a disgrace to my eyes. Now try to be silent, Steve is trying to reassure Ned's mom in the living room."

Peter blinked. "Captain America is here ? Oh my gosh, this is so—I mean," he cleared his throat. "Great." He tried his hardest not to think about the fact that Ned would've loved to witness it all, himself. "Any clues so far ?"

Tony shook his head. "All we know is that it was Chitauri technology. But if they took Ned, that means they're coming for you Peter, so they'll contact you." Peter's eyes widened. "Oh my god, Aunt May, she's at work, maybe alone and..."

Tony put a hand on his shoulder. "Happy and Natasha went to get her, she's going to visit the countryside for a while, one of the Avengers has a house there. She'll be safe until we sort this out."

Peter nodded. "So how do we do this ?"

Tony inhaled deeply. "For now, I'm afraid we have to wait, kid."


	3. Netflix and tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Netflix and tea is a saying. (It's like fetch really, someone people just don't want it to happen) Bruce and Thor say it all the time. F.R.I.D.A.Y just wants to help and Peter just wants to angst. Thank god the Avengers need to Assemble.

Waiting. They'd hardly been waiting for five hours at the compound and Peter was already on the brink of madness. And hearing F.R.I.D.A.Y constantly offering an infusion was not as helpful as it was meant to be. "Karen could you eventually highjack FRIDAY to shut her up?"

"I'd like to inform you that Mr Stark is approaching and that it's not very nice to try to get rid of me, Mr Parker. Especially when I'm old enough to be Karen's mother." F.R.I.D.A.Y felt the need to point out, making Peter blush under his suit. He pulled off the mask.

"I'm truly sorry Friday, I'm just not interested in tea. Or Netflix. By the way, _Netflix and tea definitely is not a saying_." No reply, just doors sliding open. Peter jolted on his feet. "Any news ?"

Tony shook his head. "But they'll eventually contact you. I doubt they kidnapped Ned for anything else but get to you." Peter frowned. Of course Ned was worth a lot. All on his own. He didn't need Peter or Spiderman for that. Tony sighed. "You know what I meant kid, don't give me that look."

 

"I thought you were Spiderman's acolyte, the brain, right ?" A man said, hovering over Ned's shoulder as he furiously typed on keys. "If you can highjack a Tony Stark suit, how long would it truly take you to take control of the whole iron legion, huh ?"

Ned sighed deeply. "It took me a hour with my computer to disable the parental approval on a suit. It's not the same as highjacking a whole army of robots. Besides, this PC isn't exactly the last model okay ? Give me some time."

The man pointed a gun at his head. "Remember who you're talking to kid, I'm not your friend, this isn't a prank."

Ned swallowed. "I know. He turned his head to face the man. "Now do you want me to keep going or do you want to keep pressuring me. Because I have some performance issues, you know..."

The man's jaw clenched. "Would a better computer fasten the process."

Ned slowly nodded. "Why ?"

The man shook his head. "Worry on doing your thing, and I do mine." The teen sighed, wondering how the hell did this man even find out that he'd gotten past Stark's firewalls to deactivate the training wheel protocol. Ned looked down at the device attached to his ankle and sighed, going back to work.

 

"Sir, someone is trying to take control of the iron legion." F.R.I.D.A.Y informed.

Tony rose an eyebrow. "Signature of the hacker ?" He asked, knowing that whomever it was wouldn't be able to access those because they were coded to answer to him and only him.

"Someone named _guy in the chair."_ F.R.I.D.A.Y informed, making Tony's brows crease together.

What ?" The A.I repeated the name. "No, no, I got it, Fri, I was just wondering what kind of hacker goes by the name 'guy in the chair', seriously. Why?" He sighed, picking up his tablet and displaying different screens. "Alright. I'm wondering whether I should let them go on for a little while to see or if I should stop it now..."

"I would advise you to stop them if you wish to remain able to, sir. It appears they now have access to a second device. A far more efficient one, if I may." F.R.I.D.A.Y warned.

Tony started to tap a few lines of code himself. "Guess it takes two to tango." He mumbled, as he started to cancel the other person's work. They increased in speed. "Impressive. But not enough." He shun the other hacker out, with a message saying 'nice try'. They came again, giving Tony's computer access to their camera. Narrowing his eyes, the man clicked. He found himself facing a scared looking Ned who moved a little to the left to let him see three men playing go fish with chitauri equipment laying around. A lot of it. Far too much of it for the man's liking.

 

"Getting in, kid ?" A man turned to Ned, who's eyes widened with terror.

Tony's eyes fell shut but he allowed the teen access to his iron legion, not before he had a specific location. He then headed to the Avengers' shared quarters. "Suit up everyone, we're going to rescue Peter's guy in the chair." Peter's face lit up at the nickname. He shrugged his mask on. The teen hadn't gotten out of the suit still. The other avengers exited the room to get changed. "I sent you all the address." Tony called after them, before heading to the Quinjet, Peter hot on his heels. The man was worried, sure he didn't want Ned to die, but give someone the control of his iron legion was a ridiculously dangerous move. He wasn't even sure he could currently claim the control back. But then, a single glance at Peter who was neither jittery not talkative was enough to let Tony know he'd made the right call. That kid couldn't loose his best friend. That kid had lost enough because of him. 

 

As soon as all the Avengers were in, except for Clint and Natasha of course, the Quinjet took off. "Son," Steve started, glancing toward Peter.

"Just don't." The teen interrupted. "I know I shouldn't go in there because my mind is fogged. Will it change anything to hear you say it ? I think not."

Steve nodded. "I just wanted to tell me you be careful. You're our responsibility here, Queens." Peter blushed under the mask but nodded. Of course, Captain America was the first to jump off the Quinjet, with no parachute still because why would he get one when he had a Sam huh?

The other man huffed but helped his friend on the building's one. "Once might've been the breakfast cap, twice, I'll indulge you a big dinner, but three times is more of a 'get a goddamn chute Rogers' before I get tired of saving your ass."

Steve chuckled. "Copied." Tony and Peter entered by using the window of the right floor. By the time Wanda, Sam and Steve made it to them, Ned was hiding under a table while Tony was absorbing blasts of an alien weapon and Peter was tugging on a web attached to a weapon being viciously gripped by a bad guy.

Wanda sighed. "Boys." She snatched the weapons away from their opponents, accidentally dragging with Peter with it for a few seconds before the teen let go. The three men were easily taken down.

 

"Ned?" Peter called, growing closer to the table. The teen peered out, rather in awe as 4 different Avengers stood right next to Spiderman.

"I, huh, bomb." He gestured at a device attached to his ankle. "If I get more than five feet away from this table it sorta goes kaboom." He swallowed. "Peter, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you into this mess. I should've just, I don't know, stuck to building legos..." He chuckled, visions blurred by tears.

Peter tugged on his mask. "No, no, no, you don't have anything to apologize for, I should be the one apologizing you're my best friend I shouldn't have dragged you into any of this, I should've protected you better."

Sam cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt the moment but well, bomb. We need to take care of that." He glanced at Tony. "We can, right ?" Hopeful eyes fell on Iron-Man.

"I..." He sighed deeply. "I need to take a good look at it. In my lab. Let's just take the table."

Steve glanced at Tony. "The whole thing ?"

"Yes, Captain, the whole thing." He answered impatiently. "I'm not exactly a trained EOD army tech now, am I ?"

Ned glanced at Peter, worry written all over his face. Peter's gaze helplessly flickered from his painfully human idol and his best friend. He settled for wrapping his arms around Ned's neck. "Whatever happens, we're together, okay ? And you trust me, right ?" Peter could hear his best friend's heartbeat running erratically. Or perhaps it was his own. Maybe both. Two scared heart beating in sync, far too fast but beating still. "Yes." Ned chocked out, with a certain finality.

 

A sound came from the device attached to Ned's ankle. Steve tossed Tony a remote. "It's an old people thing, you might've not have seen one in a while, it's called a remote." He told Tony who grinned just a bit.

"Alright kids, could you separate for a second so I free Ned's ankle from its electronical shackle." The two teens giggled. Ah yes. They still very much were kids. Kids that hastily wiped away tears provoked by the relief washing over their body. They shouldn't be there... Tony inhaled deeply, glancing at Steve who had the same knowing look on his face. With care, Ironman cut through the fabric keeping the bomb attached to Ned's leg and the teen stood up to walk away from the table.

 

That's when it happened. The explosion was seen by all before it was heard, blinding light and a shockwave projecting everyone out, straight through broken windows.

 

Shaking his head to try to make sense of his blurry vision and earache, Tony asked F.R.I.D.A.Y to assess his current situation. "You're currently suffering Labyrinthitis and Tachycardia sir." Friday said, making Tony roll his eyes.

"The suit. I meant the suit, Fri." The A.I displayed the requested informations on the screen. "Where are the kids ?" Tony grumbled, desperately trying to distinguish someone in the darkness of the night. Ned came to sight. The billionaire dipped to catch the teen before he'd crash down, he could work around a single leg repulsor, had to. "Cap?" He tried the com.

 

"Copy." A hoarse voice answered. "Sam picked me up, Wanda's fine. We're getting on the Quinjet. Do you have a visual on the teen ?" He asked.

 

Tony flew back, Ned gathered in his arms. "Ned is fine, I can't see Peter." He swallowed. He couldn't loose one of the two teenage geniuses.

"Sir, I'm afraid you're experiencing a mild panic attack." Tony's jaw clenched as F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice came through. He'd handle that later." Entering the jet, he handed the teen over to Captain before flying right back out. He needed to find Peter. Surely the teen had fell by now. He could, he could... Tony tried to force himself to breathe. He couldn't loose another person, couldn't cause the death of another person.

"Friday, can you, can you reach Karen?" He asked, before removing the mask from his face, feeling oddly claustrophobic. He breathed in deeply, the cold air of the night nipping at his skin. Yet he felt as if not a single breath could reach his lungs. Familiar whimpering were heard through the coms. He'd heard that before, on the tarmac of a certain airport, when he'd told a kid to stay down. Tony breathed in, refocusing on the task at hand, searching for Peter closer to the ground. The kid had landed on the roof of a nearby building. Stark picked the teen up. "Alright, I have Peter, we're heading straight to med bay."

 

Steve considered arguing that the jet wound be faster but decided against it, settling for a soft sigh. "Alright, we'll see you there."


	4. Forgot to remember me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned is okay, so Peter is okay. Until Peter no longer knows who Ned is. Then nothing truly is okay anymore.

"How are the kids ?" Steve asked, as Tony exited the med bay.

The engineer sighed. "Alive." Was his answer. "Neither of them has truly regained consciousness, they oscillate from waking up and mumbling nonsense to quasi-snoring in exhaustion."

Captain America nodded. "How are you?" He asked Tony who furrowed his brows.

"Fine, obviously."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. "Tony, listen, I used to be a scrawny kid from Brooklyn with asthma, if you think I didn't experience enough panic attacks to recognize one when I see or hear one, you're sorely mistaken."

The shorter male shook his head. "Not now. I need a drink."

Steve sighed deeply. "It's three o' eight. It's not the right moment to get a coffee." The blond spoke. "What you need, is to rest." He put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Please."

The brunet shrugged out of Steve's grip. "Later."

 

"Ned." A familiar voice whispered, making the filipino male perk up. He turned to his side, smiling just a little at the fact that Peter and him were having a sleepover at the Avengers compound. The IV attached to their arms were just a tiny detail.

"Yes?" He finally answered. Peter held out his hand, reaching out for him. Smile widening, Ned reached out as well, allowing Peter to run his thumb in shooting circles on his index and middle finger.

"I'm so glad you're alive." The teen mumbled a little hazily. "I was so afraid I'd never get to say it."

Ned furrowed his brows. "Say what ?" He could almost picture his best friend blush. At this point, Ned could sense those things. Peter's body language was just that familiar.

"I, I think I like you, as in like, like you."

The male giggled. "I like, like you too. I think. Or maybe we're both so high on whatever drug are currently flowing through our systems..." He frowned at the thought.

Peter laughed. "I smoked pot once, being high is not like that at all. I'm fairly sure me loving you has a lot more to do with you, than an IV. But if you want, I could say it again tomorrow and...." And Peter was snoring softly, still holding onto his best friend's hand in a much looser grip. Ned, on the other hand was wide awake. Peter hadn't said like, but love and that, that opened a door to a world of possibilities. Right now, however, maybe, sleeping on it was the wisest choice.

 

Tomorrow really just was a few hours later, and yet, so much could change in so little time...

 

Awaken by the sun filtering through the curtains of the room, Peter rubbed his eyes before sitting up. Frowning, the teen assessed his surroundings, this definitely wasn't his room... He glanced around the room, eyes falling on the male sleeping on the bed next to his. Brows knitting together, he tried to figure out from where he knew that guy. He seemed so familiar, yet Peter couldn't recall anything about him, not even his name. He did have a really happy asleep face though, it was cute. Shaking his head, the teen tried to recall where he was.

The door slid open, May entering with Tony on her heels. She wrapped her arms around her nephew in the tightest hug she could muster. "I'm so so glad you're okay." She mumbled. "I couldn't make it here any faster, I'm sorry." She pulled away, to look at the teen.

"I'm fine, Aunt May." He smiled, fondly as she played with the curls of his hair.

"You fell from a building."

Peter frowned. "I did ?" He asked.

May's eyes shot to Tony who's brows had creased together, perplexed. "What's the last thing you remember, kid ?"

Peter thoughtfully lowered his head, trying to remember something, anything. "Uncle Ben, he..." His throat tightened.

"Anything fresher?" Tony asked, getting an apologetic shake of the head as a reply. "It's okay kid, my name's Tony Stark, I'm—"

"Iron-Man, I know. This is so cool." Peter grinned. "But hum, who is he, exactly ?" He asked, gesturing at an asleep Ned with his chin.

"Honey, that's Ned, your best friend." Peter furrowed his brows, trying to make sense of the informations but coming up with nothing.

"There was a battle, at the Flughafen Leipzig-Halle airport, I stole Captain America's shield." He smiled. "I remember telling someone about it during a gym class, we were watching one of Captain America's video."

Tony nodded. "It was most likely Ned." At the name, Peter glanced at the teen he still had no memory off. "That kid is a pretty talented hacker. You were right yesterday, he wasn't kidnapped because he was your sidekick but for his own abilities." Peter couldn't remember a single thing, it was particularly frustrating. Why couldn't he remember someone that seemed to be such a huge part of his life but could remember that Delmar was the best sandwich shop in Queens? Or that the Lego Death Star had 3,803 pieces? That made no sense...

 

Shifting a little to the left, Ned ended up almost falling, efficiently waking him up. When his eyes met with Tony Stark's, the teen screeched in embarrassment. Oh boy. 'Way to make a good impression, Leeds' He thought to himself before pushover his hair of his his face and offering a tentative smile. "Good, huh, good morning."

May fondly smiled at him. "Good morning Ned, feeling okay?" She asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Something in her stance though, betrayed that things weren't quite right. So the boy's eyes trailed to Peter who wouldn't look at him.

"What's going on?" Ned asked, deciding to bulldoze right through the awkward tenseness.

"I..." Peter sighed, looking away from his best friend once more.

"Peter hit his head last night, he doesn't remember much..." A poorly concealed pained expression found itself on Iron-Man's features. "He doesn't remember you." He finished.

"YET!" May blurted out, rushing to Ned because she knew that while her own nephew was good at hiding his feelings, Ned, on the other hand wore his heart on his sleeve. And when the woman who was the closest thing to a second maternal figure he had, offered him a hug, well his eyes fell shut and he took it. "He doesn't remember you yet, but it will come, okay? Just give him a little time. It will return." She mumbled, rubbing circles on his back. The teen silently nodded, not trusting his own voice, afraid sobs would break out. 

 

Tony glanced toward Peter. "Breakfast ?" He proposed, voice low. The teen nodded, the sight of Ned, or anyone for the matter feeling heartbroken because of him being a little too much. Surely Aunt May was right, it'd return in a few days and this would all be ancient history. But meanwhile, a breakfast at the Avengers compound didn't sound so terrible. So he followed his idol outside of the room, as silently as possible.


	5. The Kid's Onto Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is a nice old man. Tony is a little impressed. Ned tries his best. And M.J is our lord and savior. People should really just listen to her.

Ned was _fine_. He was. He'd told his mom so. He'd told May so. He'd even told Peter so. He was fine. He could handle it. It's not like Peter had stopped to be his best friend, no. It was worse in a way. And simpler in another. Inhaling deeply, the teen looked out the window of the med bay. His arms were wrapped around his knees as he heaved deep sighs. "Well, at least I'm not dead." He mumbled softly, forcing the tiniest of smile to grace his lips. Ned was bad at pretending. And no matter how excited he'd been when Tony had insisted on keeping him here until his flu passed, he couldn't quite bring himself to be excited. Peter had left the day prior to go to school. Captain America had stopped by twice to ask him how he was and offer to play solitary with him. It was even more awkward when Cap—, Steve, right, Steve, pulled out actual cards. Steve definitely did not need his help. But Ned had laughed and told the man so before thanking him for stopping by. He then promised to be fine on his own. But now, he was bored out of his mind. And his thoughts certainly did not help his restlessness. 

 

"Kid." Tony grumbled, entering the high tech infirmary. "I need to get control over the Iron Legion back." He spoke, before handing Ned a tablet. Ned's eyes widened at the sight of the tablet before he finally gingerly took it.

"You trust me with your tech?" He asked. Tony snorted softly, poorly turning it into a cough.

"You highjacked Peter's suit, whether I trust you or not, you can, apparently, access my tech." The older man spoke, a hint of amusement in his voice. Ned grinned before frowning at the thought that his computer had most likely been destroyed in the explosion.

"Would you prefer projection?" A disembodied voice asked Ned. The teen looked around, searching for where it was coming from.

Tony chuckled. "It's okay Fri, I think poor Ned would just prefer a regular computer though." The teen blinked in surprise, once, twice before his lips curled up. Of course there was an A.I.

"It's fine, Mr Stark. I can work with a tablet." He spoke, looking back down at the screen. "I'd just prefer to have a full on — he paused, finding what he was looking for — aha!" He projected a screen before his eyes, using the tablet as a regular keyboard. "Much better." He spoke, before starting to type lines of code. In the back of his head, was a very very giddy voice, asking him how cool it was to be in the same room of Tony Stark while working on his tech? "Would you mind giving me a shiny gold coin, after I give you back control?" Tony blinked, confused. A slight blush started to redden Ned's cheeks. "Pe-Peter told me that, no, I, I..."

Tony inhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his note. "You'll have your gold coin." The teen fell silent. Oh joy. Then fist bumped the air. Oh boy.

"By the way, I'm done but then I ordered sandwiches because I can sorta hear your stomach grumble from here, and I was hungry too, sorry." He handed the tablet to Tony, smiling widely. And yes, okay, Tony could see why this was Peter's best friend.

 

 

"M.J!" Peter had almost yelled, upon seeing the female enter the refectory. She had looked left and right, then considered ignoring him for a few seconds, before sighing and making her way toward the distress looking teen. She left her tray fall in front of Peter, then sat and slid a sit to the left.

"Where's Ned?" She asked.

Peter sighed. "He has the flu so Mr Stark kept him at the med bay of the compound."

She squinted her eyes for a few seconds before her lips curled up ever so slightly that it was barely noticeable. He wasn't lying. This truly was her life now. Sighing, she considered drawing herself looking in distress, out of a sheer taste for irony. "Kay. It doesn't explain why I'm here tho, I'll never be able to fill in for Ned, and don't you dare ask me to try because I will pull out your innards and choke you with them."

The male's eyes widened. "No, no, no, it's just that we're, we're friends, right?" It took her a few seconds but she nodded. "You're basically my only friend outside of Ned and I..." He sighed. "Turns out Ned had been kidnapped yesterday, there was an accident, we rescued him, a bomb exploded"

"Yeah, the building near Bleaker Street, that was the Avengers?" She asked.

Peter nodded. "And well, it wiped some of my memories. Specifically all of Ned's and other stuffs. But the primordial things, I got a hang of them. I know I am Spiderman, I know how to be Spider-man. I also still am a genius, I think ? But we sorta all are here so I'm an average genius, I guess..." Peter's brows creased together.

"There is literally nothing average about you Peter." M.J deadpanned before planting her fork in a green grape of her fruit salad.

He smiled. "Thank you." She grunted. "What I don't get, is, why Ned?"

The female shrugged. "Perhaps because you just can't fully grasp what he means to you, so your mind simply got rid of the enigma."

Peter chuckled. "He's my best friend, Aunt May showed me pictures, videos, a boatload of memories I just don't remember and can't place it..."

She sighed. "Ned would probably say that it's okay and it will come back in due time."

Peter frowned, chewing on his bottom lip for a few seconds before speaking again. "What would you, say?" Another seemingly careless shrug, far too jerky to be casual.

"I have no idea. But you seem to have a lot on your plate, because you literally still haven't eaten anything. Finish your lunch first, then figure it out Parker. Because I certainly can't do it for you." She spoke and stood up, taking her tray with her as she retreated to solitude.

 

'It's seriously eating him alive not to know. Like, he looks too desperate to even be funny to draw.' _The_   _female frustratedly typed as soon as she was seated away from Peter._

 

— Me too. But I can't force memories nor my feelings on him. He has to want me for me.

 

'Gosh, Ned, he wants you for you, we established that over a month ago.'

 

— Not this Peter, no. This one forgot all about me.

 

 _M.J sighed deeply. Stubborn idiot. '_ Also, I know you're at the Avengers Compound. Take a picture with Black Widow or it never happened.'

 

— Tony Stark is going to give me a gold coin, is that not enough proof?

 

'Not for my lesbian soul, no.'

 

— Fine. I'll see if I can get you a picture.

 

'I would say I love you, but you know how I feel about lies.'

 

— Awww, you would almost lie to me for my own happiness. We really are becoming friends, uh? 🥰

 

'I hate you and I hope Black Widow kicks your ass when you try to get me a candid of her.'

 

— Well that took a turn.

 

Ned got no answer for that one text. However, the delivery guy half yelling Tony Stank almost made up for it. God bless typos. Ned giggled all the way out of med bay, wrapped in a blanket that definitely wasn't supposed to leave the bed it was attached to. But hey, Ned was heartbroken, sick and hungry, and he had a blanket to signify he was in shock. His shock increased when he saw the amount of sandwiches delivered. 56 sandwiches of 3 different categories. That wasn't possible. That was not what Ned had ordered. The billionaire's eyes were flickering from the delivery guy to the tablet in front of his eyes, completely confused with what was apparently their order. He sighed deeply and opened his door for the man and his bags. "Whatever is not eaten by tonight will be sent to homeless shelters." He told F.R.I.D.A.Y. who answered with a 'yes, sir' before paying the delivery guy. "Hey, what about my—" The door was shut on his face. Ned chose this exact moment to make his presence know by loudly sneezing. Which was followed by an ugly cough.

 

"Alright, alright, don't die on me kid." Tony said, before handing Ned a glass of water. He moved away from the teen to go and curiously peer into one of the huge bags. Ah yes. There were sandwiches in there. "Who actually eats honey mustard?" He curiously asked, reading the recipe. Ned grinned brightly. Of course.

 

As if called by the food, the Avengers started to trickle in their shared quarters. Steve and Sam first, followed by Natasha and Clint who were talking about the technicalities of choking someone with your thighs. Well, she was doing most of the talking while he was fiercely nodding along. They all paused seeing the amount of food.

"Are we having guests over?" Sam tried.

"Has Thor returned?" Steve asked.

Tony shook his head. "I let the kid order with my tablet, this happened." He gestured at the bags.

"I, ah, I must've misclicked in my, huh, haste." Ned tried to explain to a bunch of superheroes while wrapped in a blanket that only revealed his face.

"Fri, what kind of red is that?" Tony asked, squinting his eyes at Ned's face. "Coral sir." Sam chuckled.

"Leave the kid alone, Stark." Clint spoke, grinning a little before peering inside a bag. "Honey mustard, huh?" He glanced at Natasha and rose an eyebrow, making her chuckle.

"I feel like we're missing on something here..." Tony spoke, narrowing his eyes.

"Aren't we always with those two?" Steve asked, peering inside another bag. "Oh nice." He commented, before reaching out for one. And Ned stood, still rather confused because they all seemed, well, normal. Heroes weren't quite supposed to be normal, were they? Well, he was a hero by association and was relatively normal too...

 

"Not going to eat anything, kid?" Clint asked, raising an eyebrow. Ned shook his head.

"Yes, yes, I just, huh, I need to get my phone." He spoke.

Tony furrowed his brows. "I'm afraid anything that happens here, stays here kid. The compound is a private place."

Ned nodded. "Ah yes, I just huh..." He swallowed. "I just wanted a picture with Black Widow, if it's possible."

Natasha rose an intrigued brow. She wasn't the one people were usually interested in. "Why?" She asked.

"Because you're, you're, you're amazing. For one. Your intervention at the Supreme Court? The U.N? The jump on Captain America's Shield to get on a Chitauri vehicle? You're like, as great as all of them and it's all work. Training and experience. No suit, no serum, no superpowers, you're just super." He smiled brightly. "And there are a lot of boys and girls out there, who are pretty glad to have you on the heroes' side."

The redhead lowered her gaze, the hint of a smile curling up her lips. "Just one photo." She finally spoke. "And that's it." Ned eagerly nodded, almost tripping as he rushed back to med bay.

"I'M FINE!" He yelled and kept going, fueled on excitement.

Clint chuckled, lightly squeezing the female's shoulder. "Kid's onto something, there." He spoke before kissing the woman's head.

 

Peter still couldn't remember Ned for all he tried. It was like a word on the tip of his tongue that wouldn't come out. It was frustrating to say the least, heartbreaking at worse, to feel so estranged to someone who is such a huge part of his life. The teen was feeling incomplete, a little empty. Like he needed to catch himself right before a fall that just wouldn't come, leaving him particularly antsy. Classes passed in a blur of somnolent disinterest. He could picture Ned just fine, from the particularly dark eyes where you could barely distinguish the irises, to the tiny mole right below the right corner of his bottom lip and the fond look that just seemed etched on his face as if he just was the kind of person to welcome life with a smile. How could someone know so much yet so little about someone else? Maybe when his best friend would return to school, things would naturally fall back into place.


	6. Ned is Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things feels a little wrong, but somehow right too? Peter is confused. Ned is understanding. Nobody talks about how they feel.

A week later and Ned was back, bubbly and filled with a raw, unrelenting energy. It was, energizing just to stand right next to him and listen. Just listen. He had a ton of stories to share from his time with Mr Stark and the rest of the Avengers. Dum-E almost became his new best friend and had it not been for Peter being that cute, he would've lost to a robot. Ned giggled all the way to school, pleased with the fact that for once, he was the one who had stories to tell. Peter found out he didn't mind listening, and though he had no memories of the other teen, he could see the two of them as best friends, it made sense. Ned being right next to him, was instinctively familiar yet still very foreign, making him react in ways he couldn't quite understand.

 

When they reached school, Ned rushed to M.J who was opening her locker. "I think that in five minutes, I'll be your best friend." He spoke smugly, making the female raise a curious eyebrow. Ned proceeded to pull out his phone and play a short video.

 

'Hi M.J, Ned said you were really great and probably one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen?' A soft chuckle. 'He also said it didn't matter because you were too smart to care about that and too badass to care about people caring about that. And that sounds like a solid way to go about things. Never cease to try to be better, for yourself.' A pause and a whispered --'I don't really know how to finish' -- giggles from Ned and a suggestion that couldn't be heard. Then Clint chuckling in the back. Natasha squinted her eyes for a few seconds and those stopped. 'Alright, goodbye and take care of yourself. I tend to appreciate women who appreciate themselves and you seem to have found your path. So pursue it.' And then the video went on for a few seconds where Tony could be heard saying 'I am black Widow and I approve this message' before Ned started to giggle again and stopped filming.

 

The filipino male smiled brightly, eyes filled to the brim with the hope to satisfy. He'd given up on getting any pictures or videos of himself with the Avengers for that. M.J's lips tentatively curled up before she lowered her eyes, mumbling a soft 'thank you' with a inflection in her voice that he'd never heard before. So Ned, well, he hugged her because he wasn't about to say you're welcome for making a friend happy, that was just common sense. He hadn't really expected her to hug back though. For five seconds before she told him to release her, but still. Small victories. He'll take them as they come. Since he and M.J had bonded over their crush for Peter and Liz who seemed to be gravitating toward one another, well, they'd been closer. M.J was still very much an enigma wrapped in blunt truths, but she was also the girl who bought him vanilla cones after she was done putting his distress on a paper. It was an odd, quiet friendship that the two had developed. But they certainly valued it.

 

What Ned saw next was the eyes on them, the sort of stilling of people seeing M.J in proximity of, well, someone, and the fact that Ned wasn't particularly inconspicuous. Before she could say anything or run, Ned started to call out people "Hey you! What are you looking at? Keep going, there's nothing to see, she's too good for me! You too! Oh my god Flash, new haircut? Is it for Spiderman? I bet it is!" Because it was one thing being mocked, but it was a complete other making one of his friends feel uncomfortably exposed. So he bulldozed right through the awkwardness, making sure the attention was on him and allowing her to escape a situation she had no desire to find herself in. It's not that she couldn't handle the public eye, M.J just didn't want to deal with it. She was too badass to have to deal with morons all day. So Ned walked, locked eyes with those who were looking at him when usually they wouldn't spare him a glance. He was eager to talk today, radiating a bright confidence that he usually only ever managed to fake with Peter by his side. But not today. Today, he had something to brag about. Apparently Tony Stark believed he was decent enough when it came to computers to offer him an actual internship. And he had a shiny gold coin in the left pocket of his shirt as proof.

 

Peter had watched it all happen. With a bizarre sort of déjà-vu concerning the feeling in his guts, yet a complete inability to put a name on it. He was bothered by the fact that Ned didn't think he was enough for M.J, sure, because from what he'd gathered, Ned was awesome. But it was something else. Something he couldn't pinpoint and couldn't really put a name on seen as Ned was making his way back toward him. So Peter shook his head, clutching a little tighter on his maths book and smiled at his really bubbly best friend. It felt shallow though, and unfair to pretend. He'd let Ned in very naturally, very casually, because he knew Ned belonged right by his side. And yet, as the other male held out his hand for their handshake, all that Peter could do was confusedly look down at the hand, a frustrated frown taking over his features. "I don't, I don't remember..." He mumbled, before looking up, seeking for Ned's eyes.

The other teen seemed to deflate a bit before he offered a fond smile. "I'll teach you. You taught me first, I can teach you now. It's not that complicated, we'll go at it gradually, okay?" Peter blinked. It wasn't okay. It was wrong. And Ned, standing in front of him, being so kind and understanding, so nice and loving, it wasn't helping. Ned deserved better. But Peter nodded, forcing a smile on his features, and his best friend mirrored it. Both smiles lacked warmth and genuineness, but both teens were smiling. It had to mean something. Or at least, it should.


	7. Baby Steps for Baby Bros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter feels more than he remembers. But he can't quite put a name on what he feels. MJ is awesome. Too awesome.

Thor and Bruce eventually returned from space. At least for a little while. Turns out weapons emitting gamma rays and powered by an unknown source were found in the rubbles of the building where Ned was kept. Tony was overly eager to play with those, Bruce made his friend promise to wait until he'd be back. But the scientist also knew Tony had so much patience. Thor insisted on accompanying Bruce despite the fact that his datemate (what they were was still a little unclear, it wasn't casual per se but who knows whether or not they were dating? Both were too shy and afraid of the other's answer to ask) had insisted it wasn't necessary. The Asgardian truly missed Pop Tarts and trusted his brother enough to leave him in charge of their people. And so, an alien spaceship capsule was landing on the lawn in front of the Avengers compound. Again.

 

Tony was waiting outside for them, hands in his pockets and glasses on. He grinned when Bruce got closer, opening his arms for an expected hug. There were a few people Tony Stark actually allowed to hug him, but the thing with Bruce, was that he hugged people as if he was the one needing a hug. No one would ever deny Bruce a hug because he made you feel like you were the one he was clinging onto, whether it was true or not. Tony was fairly sure Bruce could tell when someone else was in terrible need of a hug and would always take it upon himself to make it happen but was far too humble to point it out. The engineer grinned and pulled away from the scientist to shake Thor's hand. "Stark, I have missed your wits!" The blond happily spoke, making Tony chuckle.

"Earth missed you too, point break. We all did."

Thor nodded, before letting go. "Beloved," Thor's eyes fell on Bruce, making the scientist blush and Tony blink, eyes wide. "I promised Jane and Darcy I would come and see them as soon as I set a foot on earth again. I should go while you and Stark are in the labs. I should be back for dinner." Mumbling incoherently for a few seconds, Bruce ended up nodding, making both Thor and Tony grin.

"Wait!" Tony called as he saw Thor march back toward the spaceship. "How about you take a more inconspicuous mean or transport? The Quinjet can lead you wherever you need to go and I added a cloaking mode I really want to try, so this might be the occasion." Thor grinned before rushing toward the facility. Bruce chuckled.

"Beloved, huh?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow at his science pal, effectively making the good doctor blush. "You landed a nice one here, Bruce." He wrapped an arm around his friend. "I'm happy for you." He added, as they both followed in Thor's steps and headed toward the tower. "Also, I think I might've accidentally adopted two teen geniuses. They're like baby science bros, it's adorable. Well, one cannot currently remember the other, but still. They just fit, ya feel?" Bruce blinked a few times but smiled, glad to bask in his charismatic friend's presence again.

 

~*~

 

Lunch had never been more awkward. Ned was trying his hardest not to make it weird. And so was Peter. Thus both had decided to settle for silently eating their food, with the intent of avoiding any sore subject. Turns out not talking at all was weirded than talking about Peter's amnesia. Ned just wanted to bulldoze right through. But he also knew that brusk and rash probably wasn't what his best friend needed. And no matter how many memories he could retell, that wouldn't make the Peter before him the one he shared them with. Not as long as Peter wasn't feeling ready for it. Ned knew he'd lost his Peter and had no idea how he was supposed to get to know this new one. He glanced at MJ, seated a few tables away and she shot him a tiny smile. And from her, that meant a lot more than what Ned had hoped for. So he smiled back, wide and bright before turning back to face Peter, armor on. Ned's optimism and confidence was a second skin he had to slip in around others, that's how he went through the day, by yelling that he was happy loud enough for his brain not to catch up with the lie. Being with Peter was a breath of fresh air, a break from the facade. Not anymore though. Peter needed cheery Ned too. Not Ned, Ned. Just enough Ned to keep him happy. And the male definitely intended to give his best friend just that.

 

"So..." Ned started, smiling with his eyes. "I heard there was a Star Ward retrospective at the theater this weekend and..." He paused when he noticed that Peter wasn't listening to him but looking at MJ. He looked enraptured, as if he was trying to take in every single detail and note them for later. It was nothing like the fascination with Liz. If anything, it felt a little intrusive to witness. And Ned definitely wouldn't be sharing his best friend's crush on his currently closest friend. Sighing heavily, Ned retuned to his baby carrots.

 

Peter shook his head, trying to shake away the feeling tugging at his guts. Sure, he got it. MJ was really cool and pretty. But she was so different from Ned that Peter struggled to see why his best friend would develop a crush on her. Not that he cared. Well, actually, he cared a lot. And he wished MJ was a little less great so he could dislike her a little bit for inadvertently stealing his best friend away from him. In the little time spent with Ned, Peter had remembered a single thing : He loved Ned. He wasn't sure how, or how much. And he barely remembered Ned all together. But he knew his life surely would feel incomplete without his loud, happy, best friend in it. "Sorry." He mumbled.

Ned smiled and nodded. "It's okay. By the way, Mr Stark expects me at the compound this weekend, he wants to show me some prints. Not sure what it means, but I'm sure it's going to be cool!" He dimmed a bit. "But that means I need to go upstate and I, I might be unavailable for a little while..." Peter failed to see what would make his best friend so sad at the prospect. "... I can't promise I'll be there to be your guy in the chair." The teen finished.

"Oh." Peter chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds, trying to recall what that meant before Tony's explanation flooded his mind. "It's okay, I, I'll have Karen." The teen frowned as a memory flooded his mind. _It was him, running on the school's parking lot, at night, talking to someone in a communicator of some sort as he rushed to Flash's stupid car. No Karen. No Supersuit. Just him and... And someone. Someone he couldn't remember. Someone he suspected was standing right in front of him. And suddenly, the thought of not having that someone with him, felt pretty scary._

Noticing the change of attitude, Ned ran a thumb on Peter's hand. "Hey, it's okay. I think I'll probably be able to make it work, I mean, the Avengers tower is a HQ for Superheroes. Surely they'll understand if I take some time to help one, right?"

That made Peter smile. "Right." And that, that felt like a baby step in the right direction. 


	8. Picture (Im)Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Peter ignored though, is that he could've fitted in that picture had he just asked to be included.

Ned did not go upstate for the weekend. He went to a Star Wars retrospective. And walked out when they played the fourth first. Prequel or not, this wasn't allowed. The release order was the only one that mattered. Sighing heavily, the male walked alone, a visible sadness on his usually cheery features. He couldn't even call Peter to cheer him up. Pausing, Ned realized that he had another friend. He smiled and pulled out his phone, with the intent to Facetime M.J. She answered and said 'nope' before hanging up. Frowning, Ned watched his phone for a few seconds. He saw it ring, a candid of M.J on display. The male picked up, grinning. "I knew you liked me." She sighed, not even dignifying him with an actual answer. Ned chose to laugh. "I went to a Star Wars retrospective."

She snorted. 'And you walked out because they showed A New Hope first, didn't you?'

Ned blinked. "How did you know?"

Another chuckle-like snort. 'It's two p.m Ned, unless the marathon started yesterday, it can't already be over.' She was right. She was right freakishly often, Ned thought.

"Hey do you wanna hang out?" He asked, running a hand through the back of his hair.

'Sure, I'll text you my address.' And just like that, she hung up. It was disconcerting. Foreign. But welcomed. I Ned was left wondering why he hadn't done that a while ago.

 

~*~ 

 

"Peter, could you please stop sticking your furniture to our ceiling?" May called, from the living room as he threw his rubber. Catching it with a web sling, he brought it back to the palm of his hand.

"Right." He stood up from laying on the floor, leaving his homework and remaining furniture where they were to walk inside the living room. "I'm bored." He whined, making May grin.

"Hi bored, I'm May."

He chuckled a bit. "You're lucky I larb you." He told his aunt, letting himself fall on the couch next to her.

Her smile widened for a second before she asked : "Alright, what's going on?"

The teen shrugged. "Nothing. Ned is upstate doing some really fun stuffs on an actual internship with Tony Stark and I'm here, bored and forbidden from going out before five."

May tilted her head to the side. "Peter can go out before five, it's Spiderman who can't. But I don't think that's what truly bothers you. So come on, tell me." She gently nudged him with her shoulder.

"I..." He furrowed his brows. "I don't remember Ned." She nodded.

"I know. It will come back with some time." She spoke, running her fingers through his curls.

"What if it doesn't? What if I can never do our handshake the same? What if I say something I used to know would be wrong or vexing by accident and he never wants to see me again?"

May chuckled, not mocking one bit. "For someone you don't remember, you surely care an awful lot about him."

The teen whined again. "He's my best friend. Missing him is like missing my right hand." She blinked a few times, curiously silent. "Not remembering is like having my hand right there and being unable to feel it. I hate it. I don't understand how I could forget someone who seems so important to me. It's like it's on the tip of my tongue and won't come out, Aunt May..."

She smiled kindly, fondness in her gaze. "Then I suppose you have to rediscover him. What you had was a strong bond, the kind worth clinging onto. If you can't salvage the past one, create a brand new one. Maybe even bring in new dynamics..." She spoke and let out a small shrug. Peter nodded and stood up from the couch to get the phone he'd left on his bottom bunk bed. He was fairly sure he'd never slept on it, always slept at the top. But he kept the bottom one for someone. Someone who slept in his room often enough to have a bed always ready there, yet couldn't quite be pictured. It was Ned, most likely. But why was every memory with Ned like looking at a blurred picture you couldn't adjust the zoom nor focal to? Sighing heavily, Peter shot a quick message to his best friend, asking how it was going at the internship. No answer.

 

No answer ten minutes later still.

 

No answer a hour later. More worried than curious but too proud to admit it, Peter called Tony Stark. The man picked up and asked him how he and Ned were doing. "But Mr Stark, isn't Ned with you?"

'Nope, it's only Bruce and I, today. But Ned's coming tomorrow.'

Peter's frown deepened. "Okay, bye!" He said and hung up in a haste. Then his eyes widened because holy shit he'd hung up on Tony Stark. And now Peter didn't knew what was freaking him out the most. Hanging up on Tony Stark or his unanswered text to Ned? Shuffling around his room for a few seconds, pacing as he mumbled to himself, he decided to used his common sense and ask someone qualified. That meant putting on his mask and asking Karen to locate Ned's phone. Seen as the address given was unknown, Peter's worry grew. A minute later, he was in his full Spidey suit, opening his window to go check the address. Just to make sure Ned was fine. Because he wasn't where he was supposed to be. And Ned didn't seem like the type of guy who'd lie.

 

It turns out Ned was fine. Actually, he was more than fine, playing Mario Kart with M.J, the both of them were driving backwards on the Luigi Circuit. Peter could see it thanks to the costume's lenses, as he was perched on the roof of the building across what apparently was M.J's flat's. What Peter ignored though, is that he could've fitted in that picture had he just asked to be included. Taking off his mask, the male silently sat, a wounded expression on his features. He wasn't going to cry. Though he did feel like it, just a bit. For a reason he couldn't quite pinpoint or admit to himself. Saturday sans Ned sucked. Memories or not, Peter could tell that he would've been a lot happier by his best friend's side.


	9. Textmergency and Science Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! This isn't abandoned! I've just been exploring other stuffs.
> 
> In this chapter, Ned goes upstate. Shenanigans ensue.

Ned _did_ go upstate on sunday.

 

He spent his morning playing Mario Kart with Thor while Bruce fondly watched the two. A part of him wondering what was so interesting about the kid that Tony's interest was piqued. Ned surely was gentle and loving, that much was clear seen the awed expression he had each time he glanced at Thor. That small blink indicating that he needed to check if this was truly his reality, it was both endearing and funny.

"Beloved!" Thor's voice accidentally boomed, awakening the cat curled up on Bruce's lap with oddly green eyes. Loki liked contact. Just when and how he decided it. The scientist didn't mind indulging and pretending he didn't knew what was happening. The spatial ship just had a stray cat and that was it. He scratched the black animal behind his ear, earning himself a purr as Bruce focused his gaze on a widely grinning Thor. "I finally beat the great Leedson!" He announced.

Bruce furrowed his brows, knowing just how bad his boyfriend was at the game. He glanced at a blushing Ned. The kid had definitely had let Thor win. The scientist chuckled, carefully scooping up the cat and putting it on the floor before he stood up. He pressed a gentle kiss to his lover's lips. "Congratulations." Bruce said softly before he focused his gaze back on Ned. "I imagine this isn't exactly how you thought you'd spend your morning at the Stark Tower. To be honest, me neither, Tony was supposed to be there with breakfast and explain to us the program a solid two hours ago." He informed the teenager.

"Are you kidding? This is really great Doctor Banner. I'm literally hanging out with a god and one of the greatest scientist of this century. Is it true that you've actually developed some BannerTech while you were unable to rely on the Hulk? Can I see it?" His eyes fell on Bruce's watch. "Is it one of your devices? What can it do?"

Bruce chuckled at the amount of pertinent questions. "Let's say that it isn't a baseless rumor for now. And no, this just gives time I'm afraid. But it's perfectly aligned with Greenwich's meridian."

Ned nodded, faintly blushing. "Sorry if I blab too much, I tends to get chatty when I'm excited. And I'm like, very excitable."

Bruce chuckled, shooting Thor a glance. "I'm used to it." He said, making Thor widely grin.

"How did you two even end up together ?" Ned asked, eyes shifting between the two with genuine curiosity and no malignancy. 

"I can answer that one!" Thor excitedly replied. "Let me regale you with a tale of love and heroics!" He said and clasped Ned's shoulder with a strength that made Bruce wince but didn't apparently bother the teenager one bit.

 

"Maybe another time, Point Break." Tony said, entering the Avengers' shared quarters and taking his glasses off. "Sorry, Pep got her hands on me and I had to attend a few very boring board meetings. As if directing my entreprise so I don't have to do it, isn't exactly what I pay her."

Bruce chuckled. "You mean you don't pay her enough to be the successful CEO of a flourishing entreprise so you can have fun in your lab?"

Tony nodded. "Yes, that. Boy, did I miss having someone who could read between the lines for me." He moved toward Bruce, putting his hands on the man's shoulders. He inhaled deeply, slightly narrowing his eyes for a few seconds before his lips curled. "Now let's do some science." He turned toward Ned. "Come on baby me, we're hitting the labs." He moved toward the elevator shooting Thor a glance. "You're not blond enough to play stupid, Point Break. And I heard you talking about nuclear physics, come on, welcome in the science club you loud jock of a theater kid!" He said, stepping inside the elevator.

Ned had blinked, watching the scene unfurl before tentatively following after a widely grinning Bruce and a gratefully smiling Thor. Punching was cool but it always warmed the blond's heart in a very different manner to be appreciated for his intellect.

 

What followed might have just been Ned's very own version of heaven. A god, a billionaire and one of the greatest scientist the world has known into a lab with him, spitballing and running tests with the nec plus ultra of the current technology, making him feel like his opinion mattered. It felt like a giant test and the most fun he'd had in ages at the same time. The teen never wanted for it to stop. But he knew that in a couple of hours, he'd been in a helicopter taking him back home. And he'd have to deal with the fact that Peter still didn't remember him. "Oh shit, Peter." Tony rose an eyebrow at the teen's exclamation, pausing in his own argumentation on a certain point.

"What about Peter?" Tony asked.

"I'm supposed to be his guy in the chair." Ned said, moving to the closest screen and getting in touch with Peter's Supersuit. He projected the images currently furnished by Karen and chuckled. The suit was obviously folded and still in Peter's room, the screen was pitch black but his voice could be faintly heard, humming along Rihanna's Umbrella. Ned disconnected himself.

"Huh...." Bruce furrowed his brows. "What's a guy in a chair?" He finally asked, considering that it was a safer question than 'what the fuck just happened'.

"An acolyte behind a screen, willing to make the research overlook things." Tony answered, eyes focused on Ned as if he was deciphering a code, picking the teen apart. "What I don't understand is why? He has Karen doesn't he?" The engineer's lips curled up. "It's not about technology. It's about feeling safe, isn't it? What you have that Karen doesn't is humanity. It's about emotions. You feel for Peter." He paused, noticing the blush on the other teen, as well as the fists balled up. Oh no, he'd overstepped again.

Thor moved before Bruce could, gently putting a hand on Ned's shoulder. "There is nothing wrong with whatever it is that you feel, Son of Leeds." He kindly told the teen. "You do not owe us any explanation of any kind. And you do not have to say anything you are not ready to. Tony merely pointed out that you cared for Peter in ways technology cannot."

The teen shot the billionaire a glance. He found an encouraging expression on Tony's face as he nodded. "I'm bad with people and cues, kid. But be sure one of thing, this is a non-judging club. You tell whatever it is that you feel like sharing and keep for yourself what you believe personal." He shrugged. "We're all emotionally constipated. It's an Avengers thing, kid." Ned's lips tentatively curled up. Tony reciprocated it. "How about we get back to the shared quarters and have dinner with the rest of the non-judgemental misfits ? I bet Cap would love that kind of bonding time." The teen just blinked in awe and disbelief. Shouldn't he be heading home by now? "Just make sure to call your mom while I try to make the Avengers assemble yeah? With Clint and Natasha it's going to be easy, you already won them over." The engineer told Ned and winked before focusing on the Starkpad he was holding, exiting the lab.

Thor gave Ned's shoulder a light squeeze. "We'll be a few levels up." He told the teen before heading toward the elevator, Bruce ahead of him.

 

Once alone, Ned heaved a long sigh. The high schooler took a good look at what was around him, unable to grasp why he still felt so unhappy when he was surrounded by everything he could've possibly dreamed of. Getting his phone out, he called his mother, telling her the internship would keep him busy longer than intended. After assuring that he was properly fed and not overworked at least ten times, he finally managed to get his mom to agree and hung up, grinning a little. Before going upstairs, Ned decided to text both Peter and MJ.

 

'Guess who's currently in a lab shared by Bruce Banner and Tony Stark????'

 

The answers came instantaneously.

 

— I hate you.

 

— Duuuuuuuude 👁👁

 

Ned chuckled before answering.

 

'I KNOWWWWWWW'

He texted MJ back.

 

'I love you too.'

He texted Peter back.

 

And oh. Oh fuck. His smile completely disappeared when he realized his mistake.

 

'sdinefkebdj sorry bro, this was for MJ.' He double texted Peter.

 

 

— Oh.

 

Came Peter's reply. Honestly, at this point,Ned needed context more than he needed to breathe. Was Peter mad because he thought Ned was hitting on his crush? Was he jealous? Was it just an flat 'Oh' of acknowledgement ? 'Oh what?' He hurriedly typed in before completely erasing it. 'Yeah. Sorry again.' He wrote instead and swallowed thickly. He waited a minute. Two. Three. Five. No reply, sighing the teen pocketed his phone. He didn't even bother to check M.J's reply. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was heavily Ned-centric, but I'm gonna explore Peter's frustration and Stogers in the next chapter.
> 
> Also, I love mentioning that Thor is smart. Because he's got a ridiculous amount of knowledge that isn't showcased enough.
> 
> Sadly, my knowledge of science in general didn't allow me to write a fully fledged conversation between the small bunch of great minds but I hope it was satisfying still ^^


	10. From Misunderstandings To Heartbreaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Ned don't see.  
> Peter and Ned don't listen.
> 
> Both say that it's okay. But it's really not. And anyone can see it. MJ just is the only one to acknowledge it. And no matter how loud claims not to want any business in their mess, she'd never hesitate to help out two friends. If only they could see that the only thing standing between them, is, them.

Peter hadn't been starring at his phone for the past hour. Nope. Really not. He hadn't even touched it since he'd received Ned's text. He'd just very calmly turned it off and went to do something else. Like furiously building lego constructions to stop thinking about his best friend. It was particularly ineffective because it was a Ned and him thing. He'd seen pictures and videos of them working on the death star. Their magnum opus, according to Aunt May who had proudly displayed it in the living room. It was a shared custody between the Parker and the Leeds household. This week, it was staring at Peter, sitting on the shelf right across his room. Apparently he'd insisted on it, pleased by the fact that he could see it from his bedroom as long as the door was open. Now Peter regretted it. The glaring reminder of memories he couldn't access, of a love he felt and hardly understood. How could he love and miss someone he didn't remember? What was there to chase? Sure, Ned had been no short of nice with him. But their interactions had been so stiff, so careful... So shallow. What had made him fall for glimpses?

 

~*~

 

Ned was miserable. Well, not entirely, because he was surrounded by superheroes. But he was still, a little miserable. Sam was the first to notice how often the teen checked his phone. But he chose not to say anything. Thor, on the other hand. Well, he was a little less subtle. "Are you awaiting for some specific news, Son of Leeds?" He inquired.

Ned shook his head, a faint blush heating up his neck. "No, no. It's just..." He shrugged. "Nothing important. I guess."

Thor furrowed his brows but nodded. "Very well, then." He chose not to push further, because he remembered, if not a little belatedly, that some matters mortals preferred to keep private. Even if you intended to help them. Ned shot the god a grateful smile and ducked his head, focusing on the small pile of pasta that sat in his plate.

"I'm gonna make a flying car." Tony declared. "Elon Musk is thinking of doing it for his Tesla Roadster thanks to his SpaceX tech so I need to achieve it before he does."

Steve chuckled. "Only you." He spoke, gaze both exasperated and fond as he looked at the shorter male. Tony grinned back with an unveiled pride and similar fondness. It had taken them a while to get there. It still felt like the ground on which they stood was shakey every now and then. But in moments like those, where utter adoration spoke louder than any word could, where it felt like their only focus in the world was each other, well, they remembered why they were so good together. And those memories kept them afloat when one of them felt like drowning under the pressure. Those memories always led to other, fresher ones, where anger was silenced by soft kisses and friction dealt with in intimate settings. This was them. They were messy, but this was them.

"I thought you liked Elon Musk." Bruce said, popping the small bubble they two had drawn each other in.

Tony blinked a few times and sighed. "Yeah." He admitted. "As long as he's in my shadow, yeah. The exosuits are miles away from what he can do, sure. But a very few chosen people have access to those. Flying cars could be the next rich billionaire trend. And I don't want Wa--" Tony pretended to gag. "Wayne Entreprises, to get ahead of mine."

Clint snorted. "Are you aware that Bruce Wayne probably doesn't even know you exist?"

Tony scoffed. "Please. Everybody know who I am, I'm Tony Stark."

Clint shrugged. "I hang with a buddy of mine at a very select archery range in Seattle, he's somewhat of a friend of Wayne, says he lives like a recluse most of the time. And his tech is all Wayne Industries or Q-Core."

Tony rose an eyebrow. "Q-Core? Are they chinese or something?"

"Hell if I know." Clint replied and shrugged.

Tony reached for his phone, searching up Q-Core and discovering it was a subsidiary of Queen Industries. "Oh my god, so many competitors I need to keep track off, what's next? Bruce launching his tech?"

"Well, actually..." Bruce cleared his throat. "BannerTech is a project in development. But I just want to get a couple of equipments patented, I have no intent to enter a very close market. All the people rich enough who'd consider buying what I'd build are assholes."

"Hey! I'm one of these people!" Tony interjected.

"I didn't hear him stutter." Natasha intervened, smirking just a little. Ned chuckled, glad to be included in such a private setting. It was odd seeing them all like that, eating and living, like normal people. They were, of course. But also, not really. They were heroes who'd saved the world. They were defenders of certain ideals. They were the last barrier between humanity and the biggest threats to it. And right now, they were eating spaghetti and bickering like children. And Ned felt silly for feeling so down in such a place. So he turned off his phone and truly smiled for the first time in the evening, grateful to be included. Clint clasping him on the shoulder was just a bonus.

 

~*~

 

Monday came around too soon. Peter made sure to be gone by the time Ned would arrive to walk him to school. May's disapproving look when she watched him leave early didn't do enough to deter him. Not when he still didn't know how to deal with the news that his best friend, whom he was apparently in love with, was also apparently happily dating MJ.

 

Ned made it late to class, a visibly saddened spark in his gaze. He walked straight past Peter, without a glance towards the chair kept for him and went to sit at the back. M.J sketched him. But instead of just depicting distress like she normally would, a question mark stood a few centimeters above Ned's hat. The filipino male smiled and gestured at his phone. He typed a quick text and shoved it back in his pocket. M.J read it and frowned at him for a couple of seconds before pocketing her phone as well. The class went on, Mrs. Winterhalter, capable of making English almost as fun as science capturing their attention.

When the bell rang, Peter hastily gathered his belongings, shoving them in his backpack before rushing to the doors, drowning in the crowd of students. Then he frowned, realizing that Ned probably had no idea why Peter would be avoiding him at all. So Peter paused past the doors, awaiting for Ned to come out. Which he did, eventually, whispering with MJ. Peter caught bits of it, his heartbeat growing too erratic to hear the rest. So Ned hadn't wanted him to know about his relationship with M.J? But why? Weren't they close friends? The best, friends? He considered turning away and running, but chose to wait. And face this. Whatever this was. He smiled at the two when they reached him, MJ nodding at him before she walked away. And Peter's face fell. As soon as he was alone with Ned. He sighed softly and took ahold of his best friend's wrist, leading him outside, to the bleachers. Ned had a free time period. He didn't. But it was fine. He was a good student.

Silently, Ned followed, not protesting at being dragged, but the expression in his gaze easily betrayed his apprehensiveness. Peter chose to ignore the pulse he felt rising under his fingers but slowed down his pace. After a couple more minutes, they reached the school's empty football field. Peter let go of Ned's hand to climb up a couple of stairs, hoping that his best friend would follow as he tried to find a nice-ish spot amongst white bleachers. Ned, God bless the golden heart he usually wore on his sleeve but tried so hard to keep guarded around Peter lately, followed after him.

 

"The text..." Peter started, eyes shifting from Ned's eyes to the tanned hands he was wringing together. "I'm not mad at you or anything." He spoke, as reassuringly as he could, a hand instinctively landing on top of Ned's to stop the nervous action.

Hopefully dark brown eyes searched for Peter's, a tentative smile on lips made for bright ones."I'm glad." Ned said. "I know how you feel." He went on, referring to the crush he thought Peter had on MJ. "And I didn't want to accidentally upset you. You're my only friend Peter. And I would do anything to keep whatever bond you'd allow me to have with you."

Peter would have laughed if he could. Or cried, if he'd been alone. What kind of twisted irony was that? Ned saying he would do anything to keep him as close as possible yet not in a way that would ever be close enough for him? He settled for a wounded, but grateful smile. "It's okay. We don't choose who we love." Not that Peter would have chosen anyone else, if he'd had the choice. Ned probably was the best choice for him. Someone who knew him better than himself yet eager to discover new parts of who he was everyday. Someone whose presence felt familiar, but whose personality was a pleasant journey to discover. Someone great, someone good. "And well, if you still want to be my best friend, I'll take it. I'll take as much as you'd give me. Without ever asking for more." He replied, withdrawing his hand to run the both of them through his hair. "You know you don't have to protect me, right? I'm the superhero of the two. And I know that whomever you choose to love, has to be a pretty special person to be worthy of it."

Ned looked away from his best friend towards the pitch, eyes glossy for a second. "Thank you." He rasped out, face shifting to a bittersweet expression. "They truly are." He added, eyes searching for Peter's as he said the words. He just wanted his best friend to look at him. _Truly, look at him_. Look at him and see. See that his heart belonged to someone so close, yet miles away. See that he'd have Peter so much closer than they currently stood if he had the slightest confirmation that his best friend remembered them, remembered him. But it didn't happen. And the two found themselves smiling at each other, wounded hearts masked by loving gaze. They were both too blinded by their own pain to recognize it in the gaze of someone looking right back at them.

They sat next to each other for a full hour. Silently. Something they'd never done before. But felt appropriate to do now. They basked in each other's company. Smiles easier to muster, a gentle breeze fanning all over their face and the horizon ahead. It was grounding for the both of them. They needed this. They needed each other. In an organic way that didn't require words or touches, but for the pull that drew them to one another, to keep them close enough. No matter how estranged they felt.

**Author's Note:**

> Bear me with, it should get better.


End file.
